


Ghost of the Burrows

by bromelle



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ghost Keith (Voltron), Gryffindor Allura (Voltron), Hufflepuff Lance (Voltron), Hufflepuff Shiro (Voltron), I Don't Even Re-Read My Work, Lance (Voltron)-centric, M/M, Muggle Keith (Voltron), Not Really Character Death, Professor Neville Longbottom, Ravenclaw Hunk (Voltron), Slytherin Pidge | Katie Holt, broganes, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 21:14:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16333595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bromelle/pseuds/bromelle
Summary: A mysterious boy lurks in the Hufflepuff common room, and Lance is determined to figure out who.





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

 

Lance first noticed the mysterious boy during his second week of school at Hogwarts. He was scrambling down the narrow pathway into the common room when he caught a glimpse of red. At first he didn’t question it, it wasn’t uncommon to sneak other members of other houses into the Hufflepuff common room. Gryffindor had its fair share of frequent flyers. It wasn’t until his body was halfway into the door that his brain caught up to him. 

 

_ Wait… Shouldn’t this person be in a rush too?  _  He his head back into the common room to get a better look. Near one of the small tables was a boy, with black hair, a red jacket, who looked about Lance’s age, tending to the plants.

 

“Hey, you’re going to miss breakfast if you stay here much longer,” He called out.

The boy practically jumped as he turned around and dropped a small watering can. Lance expected him to come rushing with him to The Great Hall, but instead he grabbed one of the round doors in the wall and slipped deeper into the Hufflepuff House Burrows. 

 

Lance hesitated to leave without him, but maybe he could find more answers later on. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Lance skidded to a stop in The Great Hall and dramatically slammed his books down on one of the long wood tables. He panted in an attempt to breathe, while others stared and his two friends only offered him unsympathetic looks.

 

A short girl with unruly hair, huge glasses, draped in Slytherin robes shot him an unamused look from across the table while she flipped through her herbology book. “Congrats Lance, I’ve known you for only a week and I’m not at all surprised by your dramatics.”

 

“Good morning to you too, Pidge.”

 

Next to her sat a large, buff, Samoan boy wearing Ravenclaw colors. He raised an eyebrow in concern, and almost hesitated to question him. “Lance, are you okay? Why do you look on the brink of death?”

 

Lance sighed and let his head fall into his arms. “Oh Hunk, my buddy, pal, friend o’ mine, I am glad you asked. We have a mystery on our hands!” 

Hunk thought he could vaguely hear Pidge mutter something along the lines of “oh god” but he chose to ignore it and humor Lance. Knowing he wasn’t injured, he leaned back into a comfortable position and his face changed from concerned to intrigued. 

“Oh Lance, please do enlighten us!” Pidge chimed, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Oh I will! I saw the strangest thing today.”

Hunk merely lifted an eyebrow, while Pidge dead panned. 

“I saw a really mysterious guy in the common rooms today. When I told him he was going to be late for breakfast if he sticks around much longer,” at this point his arms were gesturing wildly in the air. “he completely scrambled as if he had been burnt!”

“I don’t get it. Why is that strange?”

“Hunk! You’re totally missing the point. He resisted my Lancey Lance charm!”

Pidge swiftly cut in to avoid any talk of Lance’s supposed ‘charm’, “He probably just went to go get his stuff. I still don’t understand why you’re making a big deal out of this.”

Lance groaned and collapsed back into a lump with his head against the table. 

“I have to agree with Pidge on this one. I don’t see why you’re freaking out about this dude.”

He quickly shot back up. “You would have to SEE him to understand!”

“Ooooh I get it you think he’s handsome.”

“HUNK! ONCE AGAIN MISSING THE POINT.”

 

Hunk and Pidge shared a look of slight concern, before turning back to the Cuban boy and beginning to gather their books. “As entertaining as this is,” Pidge piped up. “We have herbology in about five minutes. Maybe you can ask Professor Longbottom about this ‘oh so mysterious’ guy you saw.”

“Oh yeah! He knows pretty much everyone in Hogwarts,” Hunk beamed.

“Ugh fine. You win this round Pidgeotto, but if you think you can escape my theories you’re wrong! ONWARD!”


	3. Chapter 3

Even arms deep in dirt, Lance continued to drone on and move about with reckless abandon. 

 

“You still haven’t really explained what’s the big deal about this guy.”

“He wasn’t wearing Hufflepuff robes, Pidge. Not a single speck of yellow in his outfit.”

“So? Pretty much anyone can be found in there.”

“No no Pidge you don’t get it. He wasn’t wearing ANY house’s robes. He didn’t have a wand with him either. I don’t think he even goes here.”

Hunk furrowed his brows but stayed concentrated on the flora before him. “Perhaps he’s new, Lance.”

“But wouldn’t he still be in his robes by then if he went here! He wasn’t using magic to water the plants either! What if he’s a Squib and he snuck on campus! Oh no do you think the professors will kick him out when they find him?”

“Lance I’m pretty sure you stumbled upon a lost new student. Nothing more, nothing less. Maybe his family is made up of only no-maj- sorry I mean muggles- and for some reason he couldn’t get his supplies before he came here. If you’re so curious, why don’t you just ask Professor Longbottom about him?” Pidge motioned her head towards the front of the class where their Professor stood, ending the lesson.

“Fine. You guys have no sense of adventure.” Lance grumbled as he began to pack away his stuff.

 

When the room was nearly empty, leaving only Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Professor Longbottom, he ran his way up to the front of the class.

“Excuse me! Professor Longbottom,” Lance called. “Is it true that you know everyone in Hogwarts?”

The professor turned around and smiled. “Oh hello Lance! I’ve taught every student in the entire school at one point or another so I guess you could say so!”

Lance grinned. Perfect! “I was wondering if anyone new transferred here this week?”

Professor Longbottom took a moment to think before settling on an answer. “No, not since the beginning of the term. Why do you ask?”

“This morning I saw this really mysterious guy in the common room! He was wearing street clothes and when I asked if he was coming to breakfast he only scrambled into The Burrows.”

“Interesting. What did he look like?”

“He was really pale and was wearing a red jacket. I thought he might be in Gryffindor at first, but it only hit me later in the day how strange it was for him to be out of uniform at that hour. He had long black hair too.” Lance scrunched up his nose, “I think it can be considered a mullet.”

The professor’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and his eyes widened. “I think I know exactly who you’re talking about.”

“You do?! Hunk and Pidge didn’t believe this was a mystery that needed to be solved! Who is he?”

He scratched the back of his neck and thought for another moment. “He’s quite shy and I think you might scare him if you bound up to him knowing even just his name. He doesn’t really talk to a lot of people. Tell you what, you and your friends can be excused from my class for as long as it takes for you to get him to leave the common room. Tell him Neville said hi and try to get him into my class. Alright?”

Lance paused for a moment, slightly confused. His face split into a large grin and hugged the professor. “Thank you thank you!” He seemed slightly taken aback but only chuckled awkwardly. “See you around!!”

 

Neville only shook his head and sighed as he saw the Hufflepuff boy go and grab his friends before running off to their next class. It was about time Keith got out and about again. These students seemed perfect for the job.


	4. Chapter 4

 

“Okay wait wait Lance slow down,” Pidge stopped in the middle of the hall. “You’re telling me you got us a long term pass from herbology so we could drag some random kid out of the common room?”

“Yes. Exactly. I’m glad you’ve been listening.”

“Wow, um. Lance that sounds great and all but don’t you find it strange that Professor Longbottom found this task so very important that we might never see his classroom again? That doesn’t strike you as odd whatsoever?”

“Relax Hunk! He probably thinks we’re the best welcoming committee there is, that’s all. Plus it can’t be that hard to get him to class, right?”


	5. Chapter 5

 

Wrong. Lance had been so very wrong. This kid is incredibly elusive. Pidge and Hunk have met Lance in the common room every day for the past week without a single glimpse of him. It was Friday night and they weren’t a single inch closer to finding out who he is.

 

Hunk sat in one of the big, fluffy, mustard colored arm chairs near the fireplace, while Pidge was perched upon the arm rest. Lance was pacing the room and groaning into his hands. Everyone had gotten used to this behavior now, and some even knew Hunk and Pidge from their constant visits and greeted them. 

 

“Lance we’ve been keeping an eye out during breakfast every morning. I don’t think it’s cutting it anymore.”

“We can’t give up now Pidge!” he whined. “I’m only getting more and more curious.”

“She’s right, Lance. We need something to go off of.”

 

Another wave of groans erupted from Lance’s throat as Hunk let out a deep sigh. He began pacing the room back and forth once again, hoping some idea will come to mind. As he walked, he brushed his fingertips against the many plants lining the walls. Eventually he got to the ones that the mysterious boy was caring for. He reached out to touch the velvety sage but shrieked when he felt a shock instead of the soft leaves.

 

“WHAT. THE QUIZNAK. WAS THAT?!” he gasped.

The entire common room turned to look at him. He had fallen back onto the wood floors and was cradling his hand.

“What the hell is a ‘Quiznak’” Pidge whispered.

“Are you alright buddy?” Hunk rushed to his aid. “What happened?”

“THIS PLANT SHOCKED ME!”

By now, most of the common room had turned back to what they were doing. They seemed mostly unphased and knew Lance was in good hands if Hunk was there. Many of them were surprised the big man wasn’t sorted into Hufflepuff.

 

“It’s okay Lance calm down. Someone is probably just really paranoid about their plants.”

“Yeah.. yeah, Hunk you’re right. It’s not like we can keep them in The Burrows, there isn’t enough sunlight back there.”

“You’re gonna be fine buddy.”

Lance absentmindedly nodded while Pidge peered over her book skeptically. “Why do you always feed into his dramatics Hunk? We can’t encourage him!”

“No, your friend has every right to be a little shaken.” Another voice piped up.

 

The trio turned to see one of the  _ gorgeous _ Gryffindor prefects offering a hand to Lance. She pulled Lance up easily with one arm, and still managed to look flawless doing so. Her eyes sparkled and she smiled at them, while pushing a long lock of white hair behind her ear.

 

“Hello! I’m Allura, Gryffindor, third year. Pleasure to meet you all.”

Pidge was the first one to move. She stuck out her hand to shake Allura’s and was a bit surprised by her firm grip. “I’m Pidge, the big one’s Hunk, and the one who fell on his ass is Lance.”

Lance lept up to grab her hand and dramatically kiss it. “The pleasure is all mine, Princess.”

Hunk laughed nervously. “Sorry about him. Nice to meet you too!” he beamed and shook her hand.

“You all must be first years, correct?” They all nodded. “I could tell because everyone figures out by second year not to meddle with the house ghost’s plants.”

 

Lance’s jaw dropped as he processed the information.  _ Was that kid he saw a ghost?!  _ He ran his hands threw his short chestnut hair and gasped. “Of course! That’s why I haven’t seen him since last Monday!”

“Ah so you’ve already met him I see.”

Lance nodded eagerly. “What’s his deal anyway? I thought The Fat Friar was the house ghost?”

“Well he is technically, but no one uses that name for him anymore. The ghost who owns these flowers is just called ‘The Ghost of Hufflepuff House’. Some of the older staff know him but it’s impossible to ever get any information about him. Even the other ghosts don’t know his name. I’ve sent quite a few to try to figure it out, but no luck.”

Lance groaned into his hands once again. 

Allura took this as a sign to tell him more. “Here’s what I do know. The Ghost of Hufflepuff House was never a student here. From what I know, he was a muggle. How he even managed to get here, is beyond my knowledge, let alone stay here after his death. The plants he guards, aren’t his. I have reasons to believe Professor Smythe and Professor Longbottom know who’s they were, but they refuse to speak.”

“Wow Lance. You got us mission impossible.” Pidge snorted. “Professor Longbottom’s first name is Neville, right?”

“Yes, he’s been here since Harry Potter’s days.”

“Well from that we can assume The Ghost of Hufflepuff House has been at least here since then, because Professor Longbottom told you to let him know he says hi, but specifically with his first name.”

“Ooo!” Hunk beams. “Maybe Professor Hagrid knows him! He was here even before Professor Longbottom.”

“Hunk you big gassy genius! Let’s go!”

Allura puts up a hand to stop them. “As much as I am interested in this development, it’s almost curfew so I suggest you stay here or return to your houses.”

Lance deflates dramatically. “Fiiiiineeeeee. Burrow sleepover then?”

“Sounds good!”

“Why do I put up with this.” Pidge mutters.


	6. Chapter 6

 

Sunlight is only beginning to creep into the common room when Lance wakes up. His back aches as he props himself up with his arms. He fell asleep on the floor, not far from the fireplace. Hunk was snoring softly in one of the yellow chairs, while Pidge was dead to the world on one of the blue foot rests covered in daisies. Lance wanted to drink in the image of Pidge looking unable to kill for as long as possible, when he got distracted by the sound of metal softly clattering against wood.

 

He turned around slowly and saw the cryptic boy once again. This time, without the beams of light obscuring his vision, he could see that the boy was slightly transparent. He was gently poking around in scillas, completely oblivious to Lance’s awakening.

 

“YOU!” he shouted. “You’re The Ghost of Hufflepuff House!”

The boys shoulders quickly rose to his ears and he looked back with his eyes wide and mouth agape. His hands quickly dropped and he was about to bolt but Lance ran and blocked the door in the side of the stone wall.

 

“Wait, please wait. I have a message for you.”

The ghost stilled and looked at Lance’s eyes. He was shaking ever so slightly. The Ghost of Hufflepuff House only nodded mutely.

Lance let out a sigh of relief. “Sorry, I’ve heard you’re really shy. Professor Longbottom, or you probably know him as Neville, he wanted to say hi.”

 

He only stared at Lance. It was the first time he could see the ghost’s face clearly. He looked more alive than any of the other ghosts in the castle. He wasn’t blue, to start. His skin was pale, and looked drained of blood. His eyes were sharp and he had long black eyelashes that curled nicely. Lance felt a stab of envy about his beautiful eyes. The irises were a deep purple, almost gray, with little speckles of gold. 

 

He had completely forgotten his task of befriending him, as he got lost in the ghost’s soft and delicate features. He cleared his throat and looked down.

“I’m Lance by the way,” he whispered.

“Neville’s still at Hogwarts?” For the first time the ghost spoke. His voice was husky and filled with affection. Lance looked back up to see his eyes watering.

“Yeah.. He is. He teaches herbology, he’s my professor.”

The ghost’s face split into a grin. “I fucking told him he could do it.” 

He had just begin to take off back into The Hufflepuff Burrows when Lance called out again. “Wait! What’s your name?!”

 

He got no response besides a few whoops and laughter echoing down the halls. Progress?

 


	7. Chapter 7

Lance jumped onto Hunk’s chest and began shaking him by the shoulders. “Hunk! Hunk! Hunka hunk of burnin love wake up!” He sleepily swatted away Lance’s hands and grumbled into the chair.

“HUNK! I SAW HIM I SAW THE GHOST AGAIN!”

Pidge shot up with her glasses askew. “You  _ what?” _

Lance barreled into Pidge. “Yes I saw him! We need to go see Professor Hagrid like RIGHT NOW I can fill you in on the way over!”

Pidge grinned and adjusted her glasses. “I’m glad things are finally getting interesting.”


	8. Chapter 8

About an hour later, Lance finally got Hunk and Pidge out the door. The September morning was cold, with a bite from the wind. The frosty grass crunched beneath their feet as they made their way towards the humble house of the care of magical creatures professor. The half giant also had quite the reputation for saying more than he should. Truly perfect for what they need.

  
  


“Keith? I haven't heard about him in years. He's been here for a long time. Not as long as the other house ghosts, though. I believe he was a part of the battle of hogwarts and has stayed ever since. There's a lot of them from that time. I feel bad for them. But they seem to be happy watching over the castle. Keith… He's a strange one. He's never been very interested in the people around here. Very few managed to get close to him, and I sincerely doubt that's possible now. He used to hang around the back of classrooms, he never got sorted so he just wandered. I'm also unsure of how he made it onto the grounds, but I'm not sure he remembers either. He first came here when he was just eleven. Back when Hogwarts still taught that young. He died at 18. He's very odd and I really don't know that much. I do know there was one student he was very attached to. A Hufflepuff, he's been gone for a few years now. I think Keith stays inside the house in case he returns. The plants I hear he takes care of also belonged to that student. He's very short tempered, to the point we thought he might kill a student once. The poor kid was trying to get around his protection on the herbs. The girl had no idea Keith would go for her throat. He still guards them and refuses to let anyone use magic on them, besides a few Professors. He's been keeping them alive for years now. No one in their right mind would try to make him leave the castle.”

Hagrid looked across the table with his eyebrows furrowed. “I hope I didn't bore yeh or ramble for too long.”

 

Lance lit up and flashed a blinding smile. “That was amazing Professor! Thank you, you're really good at telling stories.”

“Ah yer too kind. Now be on yer way. I want to see him around the castle again!”

“Of course Professor. Thank you again.”

Hagrid gently punched Hunk in the shoulder “just no more of that professor nonsense. This isn't class. Now er what is it the muggles say… Don't be strangers!”

This time Pidge smiles. “Thanks Hagrid.”


End file.
